Air cooling and circulating device and process



May 21, 1935. w. l.. MORRISON 2,002,234

AIR COOLING AND CIRCULATING DEVICE AND PROCESS Filed March 5, 1934 s sheets-sheet 1 May 21', 1935. w. MORRISON AIR COOLING AND CIRCULATING DEVICE AND PROCESS Filed March 5,v 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 2' Wl L go o y 21, 1935. w. L. MoRRlsoN 2,002,234

AIR ACOOLING AND CIRCULATING DEVICE AND PROCESS Filed March 5, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented May 21, 1935 AIR COOLING AND CIBCULATING DEVICE AND PROCESS Willard L. Morrison, Lake Forest, Ill. Application March 5, 1934Serlal No. 713,993

Claims.

This invention relates to an air cooling and circulating device and process and has for its object to provide a new and improved device of this description.

'Ihe invention is particularly adapted to be used in cooling and circulating air in a portion of any room or compartment in any building. In attempting to cool rooms of buildings great difilculties are presented, due, among other things to the fact that there is stored heat in the walls of the rooms which must be gotten rid of before any important cooling effect is produced in the room. In many instances these walls are capable of holding or storing a large amount of heat or heat units. One ofthe objects of the present invention is to provide a means for cooling a portion of the room without the necessity of removing the stored heat in these walls.

In a room of a building the warm air is at the top, and in attempting to cool the entire room it becomes necessary to cool this warm air at the top, which adds greatly to the diiculty and the expense of cooling the room. Another object of the present invention is to avoid this difculty and expense. y In cooling rooms another difficulty is-in securing a circulation of the air without great loss of the cooling effect. Another object pf the present invention is to provide means whereby this dinlculty is eliminated.

Another diiliculty presented in cooling rooms is the noise due to the air moving devices which are used. Another object of the present invention is to do away with this noise and the other objectionable features of air moving devices apart from the cooling apparatus. 4

The invention has as a further object to distribute cooling air through the agency of the cooling coil. The invention has other objects which are more particularly pointed out in the accompanying description.

Referring now to the drawings, Fig. 1 is a view showing one form of the device embodying the invention with the walls of the room in section;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3--3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line. I-I of Fie. 3;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the upper cornerl of the device illustrated in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view showing the circulatory system for the refrigerant used in connection with the device;

Fig. '7 is a side elevation of one form of device embodying the invention, particularly adapted to be used as a bed;

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the device shown in Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken on line 9 9' of Fig. '1; 'I

Fig. 10 is a sectional view taken on line III-III l0 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 11 is a sectional view taken on line I I-I I of Fig. 8 with parts omitted;

Fig. 12 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing one corner of the deviceillustrated in Fig. 8 l5 with parts-broken away:

, Fig. 13 is a sectional view taken on line |3-I3 of Fig. 12;

Fig. 14 is a diagrammatic view showing the circulating circuit of the refrigerant;

Fig. 15 shows a modified construction.

l Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several iigures. `Referring now to the drawings, I have illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6 and 15 a constructioii par- 25 ticularly adaptedfor use in a room of any building. In this construction there is provided on the inside of the room a receptacle having four sides of walls l 2, 3 and 4 of heat insulating material, which are separated from the walls 5, 6, 1, 8 oi? the room by suitable air spaces,the size of the air spaces depending upon the size 0f the receptacle desired. These walls may be made of any suitable heat insulating material and may be made thin and are preferably transparent. They may be made of any suitable transparent material, preferably of some thin transparent material, and double walls are preferably used with air spaces between them. 'Ihese walls, therefo're, have substantially n o stored heat to be got- 40 ten rid of. The bottom -of the receptacle is preferably of heat insulating material and there may be a bottom made for the purpose, or the kreceptacle may be set upon a rug or carpet, particularly if the rug or carpet has a mat under it. The receptacle is open at the top and does not extend up to the top or ceiling of the room, there being a considerable space between the top of the receptacle and the top of the room.

'Ihe receptacle may be provided with some suitable means for entering and leaving it, such as the door S. 'I'he receptacle is cooled by some cooling agency, which may ceany of the cooling agencies now in use. This cooling agency or point, and I have indicated a chamber II into4 which it may be received, this chamber being separated from the compartment by the heat insulating walls I2.

The pipes I0 may be arranged in any desired manner, depending upon the conditions presented. In Figures l to 6 I have shown a constructionV where the cooling pipes are arranged around the compartment near the walls thereof, leaving the centralspace entirely open.

In Figure 15 I have shown a construction where the pipes Illa extend back and forth across the room at its upper part. When the cooling agent passes through these pipes it cools the air in the upper part of the receptacle, and this cooled air drops by gravity down into the bottom of the receptacle. 'Ihe warm air passes up through the open top of the receptacle and out into the room. It will be seen that by means of this construction there is produced a circulation of air without fans or other air moving devices, the air being moved by the cooling apparatus itself, the cold air dropping by gravity down to the bottom of the receptacle, and the warm air rising and passing out of the top of the receptacle. It will thus be seen that a complete circulation of the air is secured without fans,` without air moving devices and without the noise and expense associated therewith. I have therefore used the cooling coils and the force of gravity to cause the dropping of the air into the receptacle, and this displaces the warmer air so that it will move up and move out the open top of the receptacle.

The room into, which the receptacle is received may be provided with one or more doors Il, and one or more windows I4, that is it may be a normal ordinary room of the kind now in use.

I have illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 6 the circulatory system. In this system the pipes I 0 and Ia constitute the cooling element, and this cooling element is connected by a pipe Ii which is provided with an expansion valve I0 and which connects with the tank I'I. The tank Il is connected by a pipe Il with the compressor I9 which is operated by a suitable motor 2l. The cooling element or pipe I0 or Ila is connected by a pipe 2| with the compressor Il, and the compressor I9 is connected with the condenser element 22, which in turn is connected to the tank I1.

I prefer to provide some automatic means of starting and stopping the motor responsive to the conditions in the receptacle. This may be accomplished by a thermostat 23 which controls a. switch 24 in the electric circuit 25 of the motor, which turns the motor off and on as desired.

I prefer to provide some means for catching the moisture that may be pr uced by condensing the vapor in the air, and for this purpose I may provide under the pipes III and Ita the troughs or other water catching devices. 2l which are arranged to carry the moisture down into a receptacle 21. I prefer to have these troughs at a distance below the pipes and connected to the pipes by means of an inclined wall 2l so as to provide a minimum interference with the dropping of the air when cooled, to the bottom of the receptacle. 'I'he pipes I0 and I 0a are fastened to the receptacle by suitable fastening devices which support them in proper position.

It will be seen that by means of this construction it is unnecessary to remove the stored heat in the walls of the room and it is only necessary to cool a portion of the room and it is not necessary to cool the warm air at the top of the room, it only being necessary to cool air in the upper part of the receptacle as required to secure the proper cooling and circulating effect. This construction, therefore, can be made separately and may be set up in theroom and will be made the size desired and can be taken down land removed when used in a climate having a winter season. It will further be seen that the cool air at the bottom of the receptacle cannot escape until it becomes warm, so as to rise or until the supply of cold air is sufcient to force it out, like the overflow of water in a receptacle. Y

This receptacle may be used in omces to en- .close the desk and chairs of the individuals using may be doors fr easy access to the receptacle..

The receptacle is open at the top and the cooling pipes 33 are arranged in the upper part thereof and as herein shown extend back and forth across the receptacle. The pipe Il forms the cooling element through which the cooling material or refrigerant passes. In this construc- `tion I prefer to have the part of the receptacle at the head of the bed just over the head of the occupant, free from the pipe so that the cold air will not drop down upon the face and head of the occupant. I'his space also provides a space through which the warm air, produced by the breathing of the occupant, may easily pass up out of the open upper end of the receptacle..

In this construction the air in theupper part of the receptacle is cooled by the pipe 3.3 and drops down into the receptacle, and the warmer air passes up out of the open top of the receptacle. In this construction I also provide the water trough or catching device 26 located below the I pipe so that any moisture condensed by the pipe may be passed down into a receiving receptacle. Instead of having the pipe extending crosswise of the receptacle, it may be arranged around the edge, as shown in Fig. 1, or in any other desired manner, the condition necessary being that the cooling pipe shall be in the upper part of the receptacle so that the air cooled thereby will drop by gravity down to the bottom of the receptacle and the warm air will move up out of the open top of the receptacle.

I have illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 1,4 the circulatory circuit oi' this device, which is similar to that shown in Fig.' 6. and I have applied similar reference numerals thereto. The pipes which form the cooling elements may be formed and arranged in any desired manner and may be provided with ns or other means for.

increasing their cooling capacity. I may also provide a series of these pipes runningparallel4 to each other to increase the cooling capacity, as illustrated in Figs. 8 and 15. It will further be seen that I have here a process of cooling a room which consists in isolating a portion of the air in the lower part of the room, cooling the upper portion of the isolated air so that it will drop by gravity to the bottom of the isolatedportion, the warmer portion of the isolated air being moved up out of the isolated area. The pipes also act as strengthening elements to strengthen the structure.

I claim:

1. An air cooling and circulating device comprising a receptacle having a plurality of sides and a closed bottom and open at the top, means in the upper part of the receptacle for cooling the air so as to cause it to drop by gravity into the bottom of the receptacle, the warmer air passing up out of the open top of the receptacle. 2. An air cooling and circulating device for rooms, which consists in a receptacle smaller than the interior of the room and having a plurality of insulating walls and a bottom and open at the top, the walls and the top being separated from the walls and ceiling of the room by air spaces, means for cooling and circulating air in said receptacle, comprising a pipe in the upper part of the receptacle through which cooling material passesand which cools the air in the upper part'of the receptacle and causes' it to dnop by gravity to the bottom of the receptacle, the warmer air passing up and escaping through the open top of the receptacle.

3. An air cooling and circulating device for rooms, which consists in a receptacle smaller than the interior of the roomand having four insulating walls and a bottom and open at the top, the walls and the top being separated from the walls and ceiling of the room by air spaces, means for cooling and circulating air in said receptacle,

comprising a pipe-'in the upper part.of the receptacle through which cooling material passes and which cools the air in the upper part of the receptacle and causes it to drop by gravity to the bottom of the receptacle, the warmer air passing up and escaping through the open top of the receptacle, a refrigerating apparatus with which said pipe is connected, the receptacle and the refrigerating apparatus forming an independent `unit.

An air cooling and circulating device for rooms, comprising a receptacle smaller than the interior of the room and provided with a plurality of walls of insulating material, and open at the top and closed at the bottom, the open top being separated from the ceiling of the room by a space, means for circulating a cooling agent in the upper part of Eid receptacle so as to cool the air and cause it to drop by gravity into the bottom thereof and cause the warm air to move up out of the open top of the receptacle.

5. An air cooling and circulating device for rooms of buildings, comprising .an air isolating compartment of insulating material open at the top for isolating a portion of the air of the room, and means for cooling the upper portion of said isolated air to cause it to drop to the bottom, the

6. The process of cooling and circulating air, which consists in isolating a portion of air in a defined area open at the top and connning' the bottom portion of said air against downward and sidewise movement out of said dened area, coollng air and causing it to drop by gravity into the bottom of said deilned area and to displace warmer air, and causing said warmer air to rise and passcut at the open top of said defined area.

7. A device for cooling and circulating air in a segregated portion of a room, comprising a cooling receptacle for cooling human beings, said receptacle being open at the top, means for filling said receptacle with artificially cooled air so that the cooled air displaces warmer air and causes said warmer air to pass up out of the open top of said receptacle whereby the air warmed by the human being in said receptacle is displaced by the cooler air and passes out of the open top of said receptacle and the interior of said receptacle around said human being is maintained in a cooled condition.

8. An air cooling and circulating device comprising a compartment for receiving human beings, open at the top and, located in a room and having walls spaced away from the walls of the room so as to be substantially independent of the stored heat in the walls of the room, a refrigerating apparatus for cooling said compartment, and means for utilizing said refrigerating apparatus to produce circulation of air through said compartment and the portion thereof where the human beings are received.

9 An air cooling and circulating device comprising a compartment for receiving human beings. said compartment being closed at the bottom and open at the top, a reirigerating apparatus, having a cooling element in the upper part ot said compartment, winch cools air and discharges it by gravity into the bottom portion of said compartment where the human beings are -takes air from outside said room and cools such air and discharges it by gravity into the bottom portion of said room, where the human beings are to be received, the warm air and impurities exhaled in thebreath of the human beings being free to rise to the upper part of said room, separate from the cool air, and pass out at the open top, due to the difference in weight between them and the cool air, the movement of the coolair and warm air and impurities and the escape of said warm air and impurities from the room being produced solely by differences in weight between the warm air and impurities, and the cool air, the lower portion of said room being` closed at the sides and bottom to prevent the escape of cool air therethrough.

. WILLARD L. MORRISON.

DISCLAIMER 2,002,234.W'l,lard.L. Morrison, Lake Forest, Ill. AIR COOLING AND CIRCULATING DEncE AND PRocEss- Patent dated May 21, 1935. Disclaimer filed January-8, 1938, by the patentee., -Herebydisclaims from clai'm of' the said Letters Patent all processes except such Where the cooling of the air which is dropped by gravity into the bottom` of the deiined area in' which the portion of the air is isolated is cooled at the top o f said deined area, so that the movement of the air into the defined area .is produced en? tirely by the cooling thereof at the top of the defined area, as is illustrated in all the :guresof thedrawings; and also disclaims from claim 7 of the said Letters Patent allv devices for -cooling and circulating -air in a segregated'portion of a room, except such devices Where the means for filling the receptacle with artificially cooled air, so that the cooled air displaces warmer air and causes the Warmer air to pass out of the open top of the receptacle, consists of a means located at the top of receptacle of the type illustrated in all; the figures of the drawings, which cools the at the top of thelreceptacle-andgwhich forms the only means of circulating the air in the recep'tac e.

[Ojcial Gazette February/'8, 41.938.] 

